architecturally curious, this writer included, have been approached and questioned by security personnel for merely walking near it. After taking photographs of the building from a public right-of-way, a street ironically named Justice Park Drive, I was approached by a security guard who asked me what I was doing.) But by observing the building from a distance, a few aspects of the design are evident. Among them is the fact that the building’s short faces are its east and west ends, which demonstrates a consideration for orientation while also suggesting a shallow floor plate that allows daylight to penetrate all interior work areas. Then there’s the glass skin, with rhythmically placed square window openings that provide relief and scale to the east, south, and west facades. The glass turns the corners at the north side just slightly as well, stopping only at a rectangular projection from the main volume, which perhaps hints at what must be a service core. The green glass “second skin” performs an important function, namely reducing direct exposure of the sun on the building’s face. Part of a double-skin system, the glass skin is paired with highly reflective aluminum panels that can be seen beneath. The exterior contributes substantially to maintaining cool interior temperatures, reportedly as much as 15 degrees. (See sidebar on opposite page.) Several large voids on the glass facades disrupt the regularity of the smaller window openings. Their function may be merely compositional since the secrecy of the interior program suggests that occupants would likely prefer no indication of what is going on inside. This being Houston, a city notoriously devoid of zoning ordinances, the building’s context runs the gamut from automotive-related services along the highway to commercial strip centers with nondescript names like ABC Business Center. Residential subdivisions almost abut the property on
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the east and north sides. Surprisingly, when driving through one adjacent neighborhood I had trouble locating the GSA building because of the dense overhead canopy of mature trees just tall enough to conceal it. Where the narrower eastern face of the building did poke through the canopy, the color of the glass blended with it remarkably well. Inhabitants of a newer development to the north (begun well after the GSA building was underway) did not fare as well. The flat facade (the conjectured service core mentioned earlier) looms above these houses like an ominous monolith. From here the building’s full breadth is palpable, yet the north-side fenestration appears less rigorous in its technical application. Compared to the regular window openings on the other three sides, which successfully obscure the interior program while not detracting from the exterior’s visual appeal, the openings on the north side seem to be placed willy-nilly in a manner that distracts from the overall compositional form. Fortunately, when the light is right, the metal skin reflects the sky and this wall appears to dematerialize. As one approaches the building – if one dares – the meandering Justice Park Drive leads to an intimidating black perimeter fence and a security pavilion composed of limestone and metal. Landscaping is young but lush and promises to eventually soften the precision of the building’s exterior. The earth gently rises and ramps up to the second-level lobby, flanked by a limestone fin that frames the entry. No parking lot glares in the sun; instead, a garage is nestled to the rear of the complex and fairly out of view. For a building clearly concerned with security, there is no sense that this is a bunker. Quite the opposite in fact, this is a building that appears welcoming and one that in all likelihood is a pleasant place to work. Jesse Hager is a designer at Content in Houston.
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